Bigger, Better and to be zoned for your shopping convenience

City Council has put in motion the procedures to rezone land at the BC Hydro site on Highway 16 in order to allow Royop developers to increase the size of their shopping village plans.

Of the six councillors and Mayor Herb Pond, only Joy Thorkelson spoke out against the development expressing concern over the impact that a large development on the highway might have on the downtown core businesses.

Local residents can provide their input on the topic at a session of city council on December 11th, at that time council will hold a public hearing at the regular council meeting. It will be interesting to see who speaks up against the project and who speaks out in defence of idea of growth for the city, even if there is a cost to downtown businesses.

Thorkelson’s thoughts on the situation, as well as those of Mayor Pond were featured in the front page story on the issue, published in Thursday’s Daily News.

REZONING MULLED AS LARGER MALL PROJECT TAKES SHAPE
Change to zoning of B. C. Hydro land would allow it to be included in project
By James Vassallo
The Daily News
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Page One

The City has taken the first steps toward rezoning the remainder of the B. C. Hydro site so the land can be acquired by shopping Centre developers Royop. The rezoning, which would leave B. C. Hydro with a small portion of land from which it can operate, received support from all of council with the exception of Coun. Joy Thorkelson.

“I just want to reiterate my opposition to this entire project because I still don’t believe we have enough information about what’s going to happen to downtown,” she said. ”We have no idea what it’s going to cost us to revitalize our downtown which is happening in every other community, that has had a highway-oriented commercial project.”

Mayor Herb Pond said he shared Thorkelson’s concerns and may have even voted with her 10 years ago, but that at this point the city really didn’t have a better way to stop shopping dollars from leaving the community.

“It’s my strong belief that we’re already suffering the impacts of a mall at the edge of our town – it just happens to be beyond our municipal boundaries and sitting in Terrace,” he said. “Doing this correctly, with some accompanying initiatives, may well be what leads to the revitalization of our downtown and our retail sector.

“I very much appreciate the small city feel that Prince Rupert has and I intend to do everything I can to protect it as well.”

In late 2005, council rezoned the eastern portion of the B. C. Hydro site to allow a large scale commercial development. Since then, developer Royop has determined that the development needed to be larger and has continued negotiations with B. C. Hydro to purchase the remainder of the site as well as initiating discussion with Prince Rupert to purchase city-owned lands located immediately to the west of the site with the intent to relocate B. C. Hydro and accommodate a future Public Safety Building. B. C. Hydro has made the request for rezoning of parts of the westerly property for commercial and light industrial uses as a kind of “safety net” until that aspect of the development is completed.

Some of Royop’s recent developments have featured tenants including Michael’s, Petcetera, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Sleep Country, Burger King, Famous Players, Staples, Linen’s N’Things, Future Shop, Moores’, Mark’s Work Wearhouse, General Nutrition, Subway, Payless shoes, Second Cup and Edo Japan among others.

The company still has not announced who would be occupying the development, thought to be as many as five large stores, however Royop’s website continues to show Canadian Tire as one of the proposed outlets. The first businesses in the shopping development are slated to open around the same time as phase one of the container port, in the fall of 2007.

A public hearing on the rezoning will be held at the city’s regular council meeting, Dec. 11 at 7 p. m.